Jean Garon & Louise Harel: What happens to a PQ has been?

[August1991]

I started a thread elsewhere about the Death of the Parti Quebecois. And another about the Enigma of Quebec City. I think these comments of Jean Garon worthy of another thread.

Louise Harel is the Dan Heap of Quebec politics. She's a Leftist elected in a poor, urban riding. Jean Garon is the Eugene Whelan of Quebec politics. A smart farmer from a rural district.

Jean Garon and Louise Harel were both ministers in Levesque's PQ government. Now, Harel is still in the PQ caucus but Garon has said he supports the ADQ. Upon learning this, Harel responded:

Parti Quebecois MNAs are playing down the conversion of two long-time sovereignists to the Action Democratique. Over the weekend, former PQ minister Jean Garon, and former Hydro Quebec president Andre Caille took part in an ADQ general council meeting. Caille has expressed interest in running for the party.

"They're has-beens," said longtime Hochelaga-Maisonneuve MNA Louise Harel, arriving for a PQ caucus meeting in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu.

ADQ leader Mario Dumont denounced the comments, which he said were especially inappropriate, coming from the PQ's critic on issues facing the elderly.

"The use of that expression clearly means in some way that (you think) at a certain age people's... contribution to Quebec society is not welcome anymore," said Dumont.

But, Dumont says the fact the two sovereignists are now backing his party is a sign Quebec has moved on to new issues, and away from what he calls "the old debate" over sovereignty.

The ADQ leader is demanding an apology from PQ leader Pauline Marois over Harel's comments.

Later in the day, Harel apologized. She says the comments had nothing to do with Garon and Caille's age. The former municipal affairs minister pointed out Garon says he remains a sovereignist.

Rousseau MNA Francois Legault, and Chicoutimi MNA Stephane Bedard however, added they felt both men were "opportunists."

CJAD

Jean Garon is the one to watch here. He was a popular - and intelligent - agriculture minister but gruff, down-to-earth and honest. I imagine that the remnants of the PQ are upset. (Note the reference to "opportunism". How else to characterize Pauline Marois' decision to delay a referendum?)

Garon responded in an interview:

Trai­té de has ­been ­hier, par Loui­se Ha­rel, son ex-col­lè­gue au ­Conseil des mi­nis­tres ­Jean Ga­ron ­avait une ré­pli­que tou­te prê­te : « El­le est en mau­dit ­après moi par­ce que j’ai dit que c’est el­le qui a nui le ­plus au PQ ­avec les fu­sions mu­ni­ci­pa­les for­cées. El­le ­n’avait mê­me pas de man­dat ­pour le fai­re, ça n’a ja­mais été ­dans le pro­gram­me. »

« Je ­suis al­lé cher­cher pas mal ­plus de vo­tes ­pour le PQ que Loui­se Ha­rel, pour­suit M. Ga­ron. El­le a une fa­çon de pen­ser mar­gi­na­le. Ho­che­la­ga-Mai­son­neu­ve, ce n’est pas le Qué­bec au com­plet. »

M. Ga­ron pré­ci­se par ­ailleurs que son in­té­rêt ac­tuel ­pour l’ADQ ne si­gni­fie pas ­pour au­tant qu’il n’est ­plus in­dé­pen­dan­tis­te. « Il y a eu ­deux ré­fé­ren­dums et ça n’a pas pas­sé. Ça ne ­veut pas di­re que quelqu’un qui ­était ­pour ça est ­contre ça. ­Sauf que l’en­jeu, ac­tuel­le­ment, n’est pas là et mê­me le PQ, ­dans ­leur pro­gram­me, ont chan­gé com­plè­te­ment ­leur for­mu­la­tion. Les has ­been, c’est plu­tôt eux. »

­Jean Ga­ron ju­ge par ­ailleurs que ­dans le contex­te, ce­lui d’un Qué­bec « qui n’a ja­mais été di­vi­sé com­me il l’est ac­tuel­le­ment », dit-il, Ma­rio Du­mont ap­pa­raît com­me le lea­der qui a le ­plus de ta­lents de « ras­sem­bleur ». « Je trou­ve que Ma­rio Du­mont com­prend ­mieux les ré­gions du Qué­bec, ­leur fa­çon de pen­ser, et la ré­gion de Qué­bec. Et il va per­cer aus­si à Mon­t­réal, les son­da­ges com­men­cent à le mon­trer de ­plus en ­plus. Et là, ça va fai­re un Qué­bec qui est ­plus pen­sé com­me un en­sem­ble. »

« Le PQ et le ­Bloc, c’est le Pla­teau-­Mont-­Royal, et mê­me ­plus pe­tit que ça, lan­ce l’ex-mi­nis­tre pé­quis­te. Les ­gens ré­agis­sent à ça. Ce n’est pas ­pour ­rien qu’à la gran­deur du Qué­bec, en de­hors de Mon­tréal, l’ADQ a ­fait une gros­se per­cée. Ils sen­tent qu’ils ­sont ­plus re­pré­sen­tés de cet­te fa­çon. Les ­gens ­sont tan­nés de se fai­re di­re par Mon­tréal ­quoi pen­ser. »

La Presse

Garon states that his interest for the ADQ does not mean that he's no longer an independantiste (as the journalist interprest his words). Garon says: "There were two referendums and it didn't pass. That doesn't mean that someone who was for is now against. It's just that the stakes now are not the same and even the PQ, in its programme, has changed its approach. The 'has beens' are rather the PQ."

----

There's a divide taking place in Quebec, like in the US and Canada. Montreal is a blue state and the rest of Quebec is a red state.

Edited October 5, 2007 by August1991

[Visionseeker]

There's a divide taking place in Quebec, like in the US and Canada. Montreal is a blue state and the rest of Quebec is a red state.

That is one way of looking at it. But I look at the divide as something more significant.

Born from the reasonable accommodation movement, the ADQ racial mentality will eventually give rise to a progressive counter movement centres itself on both the provincial and even federal charters.

[jbg]

That is one way of looking at it. But I look at the divide as something more significant.

Born from the reasonable accommodation movement, the ADQ racial mentality will eventually give rise to a progressive counter movement centres itself on both the provincial and even federal charters.

You mean yet another party? Quebec needs that as badly as it needs a hole in the head.

[M.Dancer]

Louise Harel is the Dan Heap of Quebec politics. She's a Leftist elected in a poor, urban riding.

Dan Heap's riding of Spadina is far from a poor urban slum. It has an average HH income above $80,000 and is home to the artsy farties and UofT crowd.

While Dan Heap is a scurrilous knave who liked to desecrate the memorials of men who died to keep him free, other than that what is the similarity beween the shameless socialists the separatitsist mentioned?

Edited October 5, 2007 by M.Dancer